Should I finish college

[Frank9000]

I need an outside perspective because I am biased!
I have 2 years of college from when I was 18 around. (I am 30 now). Currently no debt.
I have been working full time in a union job studying physics and engineering as a passion after work about 15-20 hours a week on average for the last 7-8 years... rather than working overtime because I love it. I have been doing this with the intent to create a product and sell it. I decided about 7 years ago that it would be better to work full time and study on my own, so that when I finally get the knowledge I want I could use the money I learned at top pay where I work to take some risks and rent a work studio/tools and teach myself machining, then make a product. I am finally there, with the raise and the knowledge maybe 4 months from completion.. I was just starting to look into renting a work space...and my union goes on strike.

I work for a cable company in NY fixing internet and phones for business.  It has been 86 days. It looks like the strike is not going to end. My plans to get a studio/workshop with expensive tools and create seems ruined...

The networking business is... terrible. If I don't go back to making top pay at my company then I have to get out of it now its my last real chance.
I can start from the bottom again and work my way back up somewhere... but I think it takes about 5 years to get decent pay in any new job/career path. So should I just take a loan and finish school?
I don't have a degree, but yet I have the education so I wouldn't even have to study that material really...
Should I try to get a job helping an engineer and work nights for an engineering degree? Might have to give up making a product for a while if I work full time and school at night. 
I was also thinking try to become an elevator mechanic since they at least fix motors/circuits and that interests me.

I could go back to school and become say a doctor, since studying for me is a joke it would be easy... but that would be like 7-10 years and people tell me it would cost a million. I don't really want to be broke for the next 7 years.
I could try to get a job as a machinist and make little money to start... but it might be the same as having my own workshop if they would let me use the tools. I think their top pay is not that great though. Average salary is only 60K.

I know there are smart people here. If you were me, and you had all this knowledge with a plan that just had a huge wrench thrown in it... What would you do?
My dream has been to learn physics/engineering. Make a product while I study bio/physiology/immunology/ect, then get self sufficient and work on cures to medical conditions and fun projects for the rest of my life. I want to be a bio engineer. Right now I study aerodynamics on a masters level and am finishing up machine design and some of the easier engineering things I skipped in order to do higher level physics, also organic chem.

[smarterthanone]

If you want to be an entrepreneur, don't get a degree.

If you want to work for a company, get a degree by going to the cheapest schools you can manage (ie community college -> state school).

Now if you want to work for a company but in a very competitive field, still go to the cheapest schools BUT go to the big name top school for your highest degree, either masters or doctorate.

[meetjoeblack]

Its tricky. I went to college a few times and IMO, it was not exactly all that productive. For starters, it really supplicates and panders to the girls. I've watched even profs/teachers dropping a guy's mark and giving full or half marks to the girls. In high school, a feminist teacher graded two paper's, my buddy and the girl's to different marks. The guy was my buddy and the girl was his friend. They handed in the same paper. She received awesome grades. He received a near fail. It was disgusting but, she was outed for the hack that she is.

 

Since you are studying engineering, I highly recommend you finish if you can but, if it was social science, women's studies or liberal arts, I would tell you run for your life. My stint of education has been nonstop fuckery. For starters, I took a program that had several routes similar to a pre law or pre med. It was basically a money grab but, I thought at the time, it was an ideal move since it would provide me further options. Well, the school took the money, they failed to process my paper work, and then, denied access. When I followed up with as to why, I was given the run around, and blacklisted. As it turned out, the administration did not process my forms, denied access since, my application was not in on time (again, they did not process it), and when they were caught, they would not adjust me. They placed me on a "waitlist" to be determined. It resulted in me raising hell, making noise, driving administration crazy, and finally, contacting the Dean to resolve the matter. Needless to say, the Dean of the school apologized for the incompetency, adjust me, and I moved onto my program. If you would think the program would stop here. It did not.

 

Internships were directed based upon GPA. Of course, I had a excellent GPA and yet, I was dodged some more with the ideal internships. My grades were higher and yet, I was still fucked out of these better opportunities. I connected with the university following college to finish up with a double major. I met with admissions and advising. Here I was informed that there was very little opportunity atm. Now, if you missed deadlines, you failed, and were penalized accordingly. During the distribution of internships, I was given along with classmates 3days notice for the series of months to come. Why? Because the piece of shit doing the distribution failed to her job. Classic government education.

I finish my program. Still, no info on uni opportunities for double majors. I later find out, the school failed to inform me of the time line for the double major in the field I am after. I went to advising. I made appointments. I sent out numerous calls and emails so, I am again waiting or pursuing another school. Unfortunately, I wont have another double major opportunity or I am out a year.

 

This is the sort of fuckery that awaits you in school. It serves nearly no good and only takes your resources so, I ask why do this to yourself?